Spurs' fatal flaw can be traced back to massive mistake that still haunts them

As the San Antonio Spurs gear up for what could be an impactful off-season, they will need to address their biggest flaw: shooting. Shooting has been a bugaboo for the Spurs for years now, and it has become an increasingly bigger problem.

This is despite the league becoming more and more reliant on 3-point shooting. The Spurs only had four shooters in their rotation this season, and this summer, that number could dwindle to three.

With Chris Paul's future uncertain, the Spurs potentially drafting Dylan Harper, and barring a big trade for Kevin Durant, they likely will continue to struggle from three next season. That leads to questions about why the Spurs chose to let former assistant coach Chip Engelland go.

The San Antonio Spurs miss Chip Engelland

Much of the team's shooting struggles can be traced back to their failure to bring back shooting guru Chip Engelland in 2022. England previously had success in helping Spurs players Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Dejounte Murray learn how to shoot.

However, the Spurs haven't been nearly as lucky since he's left. Players like Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley have all made little to no progress as shooters, stalling their development.

Johnson's ceiling is far lower than what many Spurs fans thought after his best shooting season, when he drained 39.8% of his threes in 2021-22. Since then, he has had four straight seasons shooting below league average, making him an inconsistent player.

The Spurs' player development has been severely impacted

Sochan's development will hinge on him becoming a passable shooter. While off-season videos have led to increased optimism, it's still very much up in the air whether he will.

Meanwhile, Branham and Wesley probably don't have a future in San Antonio thanks to their shaky jumpers.

Between those four former Spurs first-round picks, only Sochan and maybe Johnson project to have a future with the team. Between them, it seems like a 50/50 chance that either will work out. That all goes back to Engelland.

San Antonio having Stephon Castle and possibly Harper increases the need for a shooting coach of Engelland's expertise to make sure they live up to the hype. Castle did have a 12-game stretch in 2024–25 in which he drilled 40.4% of his 3.9 3-point attempts per game.

That hints that he might become a decent to good high-volume shooter, but he might also suffer the same fate as other recent Spurs picks. As for Harper, he shot 37% on spot-up threes while at Rutgers, but his shot is generally seen as a big question mark.

For the Spurs to live up to their full potential, they need two of Castle, Harper, and Sochan to become good shooters. This would make the hypothetical future starting lineup featuring Fox, Harper, Castle, Sochan, and Victor Wembanyama possible. That's far from a safe bet without Engelland.

All In all, the Spurs still have a long way to go to solving their shooting woes, perhaps longer without England. Their potential is definitely there for them to contend in the near future, but first, they will have to fix that major flaw.